JENNER SHINING STAR IN CANADA'S 2-1 SHOOTOUT WIN OVER MEDICINE HAT

by Kristen Lipscombe

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – When Canada's National Women's Team and Brianne Jenner (Oakville, Ont./Cornell University, ECAC) come back, they come back undeniably strong.

Jenner not only notched the tying goal with just 20 seconds remaining on the clock in regulation time, but also ensured her status as the game hero by scoring the lone goal in a shootout Wednesday night to lead the ladies in red and white to a 2-1 win over the South East Athletic Club Tigers at the Kinplex Arena in Medicine Hat.

It was a thrilling – and relieving – win for the Canadian women, who fell 5-0 to the Lethbridge Hurricanes in a difficult loss 24 hours earlier, while on a two-game road trip in Team Canada's busy exhibition schedule  this season against AAA teams from the Alberta Midget Hockey League.

But it was the Tigers to get on the scoreboard first in Wednesday's game, with Jordan Taupert putting the puck past Canadian netminder Charline Labonté (Boisbriand, Que./Montreal, CWHL) less than five minutes into the second to make it 1-0, which is what the game would stay at until Jenner's shining moment in the dying seconds of the third period.

"We kind of just had a battle in the corner," Jenner said shortly after the thrilling win of how that tying goal came together on the ice. "Caro (Caroline Ouellette) was working really hard, and swung around below the net and Mikk (Meaghan Mikkelson) picked it up and found me in the slot, and I was able to get my stick on it, in the far corner."

Jenner said she was just thrilled to "do something for the team." But of course, not only did she get that big goal, but the 5'6", 156-pound forward also got the only other, and arguably the biggest goal in the thrilling victory over the Tigers.

"All I was thinking was the game's on your stick, so I'm glad it went in," she said. "It was low glove ... I just thought I better fire it before I lose control and it went in!"

Jenner and her teammates breathed a bit of a sigh of relief after Tuesday's 5-0 shutout loss to Lethbridge. "The girls battled really hard all night, and Charlie (Charline Labonté) was amazing," she said. "She needed one of us to pop one in for her."

Labonté made 27 saves total, including six in the exciting shootout that had fans in the stands on the edges of their seats.

"Right from the time we got to the rink today, there was a bit of a change," Jenner said. "People were ready to go and there was a fire in everyone's eyes. I thought we were going to have a good game, and everyone showed up and worked hard.

Next on the Team Canada schedule are two exhibition game against rivals the United States. The puck drops this Saturday, Oct. 12 in Burlington, Vt., and again next Thursday, Oct. 17 in Boisbriand, Que. Follow Canada's National Women's Team on the Road to Sochi 2014 at www.hockeycanada.ca/nwt, www.facebook.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_women.